


Seeking Absolution

by JasmineTeaLatte



Series: Where the Spirit Meets the Bones [6]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Inspired by Music, Light Angst, Light Dom/sub, Smut, ZK Drabble December 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:15:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28420791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasmineTeaLatte/pseuds/JasmineTeaLatte
Summary: She bore the brunt of his sins the worst; her faith splintered by the prince’s betrayal. It’s only fitting that he works the hardest to reconcile with her.He will fall to her feet as many times as she commands, bowing down and glorifying her for the rest of his life if she asked him to, and he would be content in doing so.~*~*~Written for ZK Drabble December 2020, Day 29: In My Heart
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Where the Spirit Meets the Bones [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071038
Comments: 13
Kudos: 72
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	Seeking Absolution

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be angst and fluff, with the faintest reference to the smut... 
> 
> ... then I decided, “nah” and made the last part pure smut, just because.

_I've got a lover, a love like religion_   
_I'm such a fool for sacrifice...  
_

Coming Down - Halsey

* * *

  
As a mere child of thirteen, he kneels on the tiles of the palace’s Agni Kai chamber, begging forgiveness as tears stream down his face. He receives a palmful of fire over his left eye, a scarlet burn that marks him as a coward for the remainder of his life.

The prince kneels again before a young Earth Kingdom boy who he rescued moments earlier, although Lee and his mother scorn the disgraced, banished Fire Prince. He holds out his beloved pearl-handled dagger, but his offering of peace is rejected. Silently, he leaves their village riding off into the sunset, unforgiven.

He kneels before his wounded uncle, weakened by cold blue flames and clinging to life. Stifling sobs of fear or frustration or both, he snarls as aid is offered freely from his enemies. He is desperate yet proud, and he refuses to accept their pity.

Months later, he finds himself on his knees once more after tumbling down into a catacomb surrounded by lustrous emerald crystals. Golden eyes stare up derisively at narrowed sapphire ones, and he immediately turns away, sulking as he blocks out her accusations. She is nothing more than a peasant, someone beneath him, she is…

… not so different from him, it would seem, as she too grieves for a lost mother.

Mere minutes later she stands before him offering emancipation from the brand he carries, her soft hand resting against the hardened ridges of his scar. Before she can begin her attempt at healing, however, they are interrupted by shattered walls caving in, and the moment is lost forever. 

As he emerges from underground late that evening, gazing out at a conquered city that he helped overthrow, he vows to forget the Water Tribe girl with ocean blue eyes who held absolution in her palms.

For a time, he makes good on that pledge, especially after he finally returns home a hero, his people singing his praises. A girl as cold as the blades she carries warms his bed and smiles only for him.

He kneels before the Fire Lord in front of a wall of flames, solemn as he commends his redeemed son as well for his actions in Ba Sing Se. Yet for some reason his father’s approval fills him with shame, the silken compliments turning his stomach inside out.

On the day the sun is overtaken by the moon, the prince takes a stand and decides his place in the war and how history will remember him, leaving behind everything he once thought he loved.

It’s all hollow, and there is no absolution to be found there, at least not now. Someday, perhaps.

He seeks forgiveness from the Avatar and his companions, once more on his knees on ancient stone tiles as he pleads for their mercy. It comes as no surprise that they do not grant it, and he finds himself knocked backwards by a water whip, gaping up at ocean blue eyes that would drown him without remorse for his transgressions.

So he sets out to prove himself worthy of their friendship, and he almost completely succeeds, save for one nonbeliever.

After waiting up all night long outside of her tent, he offers her closure that only he can give. Although she still doesn’t trust him entirely, she accepts his aid, watching him cautiously out of the corners of her eyes even as she effortlessly stops the rain.

She bore the brunt of his sins the worst; her faith splintered by the prince’s betrayal. It’s only fitting that he works the hardest to reconcile with her.

He does not kneel before her once she grants him amnesty on a boardwalk bathed in the warm glow of afternoon sunlight. Instead she embraces him, and for a heartbeat he feels a new, foreign sensation.

It’s lightness and joy, and in that moment he could conquer the world if she asked him.

From that point onwards their relationship is altered permanently, and they settle into an easy friendship, a camaraderie that fills his heart with contentment.

Something hungry lingers beneath the surface between them both, though, an emotion they dare not acknowledge, at least until their last night at his family’s beach house.

As the others sleep he kneels once more, this time beside her bed seeking a different form of penance with her thighs resting atop his shoulders. His lips trail apologetic kisses between her legs until she’s left writhing and panting, whimpering for release as his fingers stroke and caress her reverently, bringing her closer to ecstasy.

Her hands tangle in his hair as she bites her lower lip, desperately trying to stifle her cries as his mouth worships her in the way she deserves. She lets out a moan despite herself as her body trembles and she comes undone, whispering his name like a prayer and tugging furiously at his midnight-black locks.

As she slowly floats down from her high he plants tender kisses up her navel, and he swears he’s never seen anything more beautiful than the sight of her breathless underneath him.

If his life were to end at this moment, he would die a happy man, having earned her forgiveness in more ways than one.

He’s prepared to kneel before her as often as she commands that night, but she has other plans. Instead, he finds himself unceremoniously rolled over onto his back, zealously gazing up at her in adoration as she straddles his hips. Her sapphire eyes drown him, and she pauses before she grants him what he desires.

_Please_ , he begs shamelessly, completely at her mercy as she starts to slide down.

She pauses almost immediately, clenching repeatedly around his tip, practically daring him to sink into her even further. But he knows better; he has not earned this yet, so he suffers without complaint, save for tormented groans of agony each time she grips him.

Her teeth nip at his ear and across his throat as she taunts him, asking what he’s willing to offer her in return.

_For you?_ he breathes. _Everything_.

_You’re in my bloodstream. You’re in my heart, behind every heartbeat, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to you just how much you deserve to be worshipped._

Satisfied by that answer, she finally ends his misery and takes him completely, and her unbearable warmth surrounding him is almost enough to tip him over the edge. He swears he sees paradise as she clenches around him, rolling their hips together and pinning his wrists down beside his head.

True to his word, he worships beneath her long into the night, murmuring praises and adorations as her hips grind down against his, pulling him further into her body and drawing whimpers from both of their throats with each deep, fervent stroke. 

Only once she reaches her zenith does she finally allow him to release, and he shudders as his hips carve up into hers over and over, and he feverishly whispers her name, sore and spent and desperately hoping for even more.

He will fall to her feet as many times as she commands, bowing down and glorifying her for the rest of his life if she asked him to, and he would be content in doing so.

To his surprise, though, she deems him worthy enough and her perfect pink lips seek his out, claiming his mouth for the first time that night, consuming him hungrily.

As she pulls her head back, her fingertips brush his messy hair away from his face, granting him a smile of forgiveness.

Her blue eyes sparkle down at him in the darkness like a moonlit ocean, and he swears in that moment he’s found absolution at last.

* * *

_The only Heaven I'll be sent to_   
_Is when I'm alone with you_   
_I was born sick, but I love it_   
_Command me to be well_

Take Me To Church - Hozier


End file.
